How Income Divides Soda Drinkers

Did you know that how much money you make could predict what kind of soda coupons you’re most likely to use? It sounds pretty crazy, but according to new research by the New York City Health Department, income divides soda drinkers.

            The Health Department collected date on soda consumption habits in the different neighborhoods of the city and found that residents of Chelsea and Greenwich Village – two trendy, fashion-conscious neighborhoods –are the least likely to sip on sugary soft drinks. Only 11.2 percent of people in those areas reported drinking at least one soda a day, while the Upper East Side and Upper West Side were a distant second with 18.4 percent of people consume at least one soda a day.

            The really shocking finding is that the poorest districts of the city were the areas where soda consumption was highest. In the Flatbush and East Flatbush neighborhoods of Brooklyn, 45.7 percent of adults reported that they consumed a soft drink daily. The South Bronx wasn’t far behind with 45.5 percent.

            "That number is shockingly high to me -- it's disturbing," said City Councilman Jumaane Williams said of the Brooklyn neighborhoods he represents. NYC has famously pushed to reduce soda consumption with aggressive advertising campaigns and an attempted ban on the use of food stamps to buy sugary drinks.

             "If you overlay a map of sugary-drink consumption and obesity, they coincide an awful lot," said  NYC City Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley, who was disappointed that the no-food-stamps-for-soda initiative failed. Farley believes that, if the city’s 1.7 million food stamp residents could no longer use soda coupons, stores would shift their stock to accommodate consumers and the whole city would benefit from healthier options.

Drinking Pepsi From A Corn Husk

         Did y’all hear that Pepsi is totally changing the formula of one of its products? The change is going to make wave in the beverage industry, and maybe it’ll even help Pepsi get  a leg up on coke in the decades-long soda wars between the two brands. The way you use Pepsi coupons is about to change…..

         

         But don’t worry, Pepsi devotees. The soda itself is going to stay exactly the same (I can almost hear your sigh of relief). What Pepsi has reformulated is their plastic bottles. They’ve recently discovered how to make the bottles entirely out of plants, which the company says reduces the PepsiCo Carbon footprint significantly. They also say their new, eco-friendly bottles are significantly more advanced than those of their chief competitor.

         The new bottles are made from switch grass, pine bark, corn husks and other materials. Pepsi eventually hopes to incorporate other common plant materials including orange peels, oat husks, potato scraps and other food business leftovers. Traditional bottles are made with fossil fuels like petroleum, and these limited resources have a serious environmental impact and are actually more expensive than plant materials, so this new bottle technology is a big deal.

         Pepsi execs say that people how use Pepsi coupons shouldn’t worry about the new packaging affecting the flavor integrity of the soda inside. The new bottles looks, feels, and protects the drink inside as well as the current plastic ones. 

Dr Pepper Cupcakes are Delicious, Duh!

Cupcakes are all the rage right now. Dr. Pepper is delicious. Soda coupons rock. Tell me something I don’t know, right? Well, here’s a recipe that combines all three of those excellent things to create a treat greater than the sum of its parts: Dr. Pepper Cupcakes!!!!! There are more ingredients in this recipe than in the usual cupcake recipe – perhaps because there are 23 flavors in Dr Pepper? Don’t be intimidated, though – the cupcakes are yummy enough to be worth the work!

Here are the ingredients you’ll need to get cooking:
FOR THE CUPCAKES
1 cup of butter or margarine
1 cup Dr Pepper soda
½ cup buttermilk (or, ½ cup milk and 1 tablespoon orange juice)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 tablespoons cocoa
1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
2 cups flour
2 cups white sugar
FOR THE ICING
¼ cup butter
3 tablespoon cocoa
¼ cup Dr Pepper soda
1 bag powdered sugar (you won’t need it all, but enough to make the frosting thick)
Here’s how ot make the cupcakes:
Heat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
Heat 1 Cup of butter and Dr Pepper in medium saucepan. When butter is melted, pout into a bowl and add cocoa, cinnamon, flour and sugar.
Mix eggs, buttermilk, soda and vanilla in a bowl. Add this mixture to the butter mixture, then pout into paper-lined cupcake tins.
Bake for 30 minutes. remove cupcakes from pan, and cool while you prepare the icing.
To make the icing, heat remaining Dr. Pepper, butter, and cocoa in a saucepan and stir until well blended. Stir in the remaining ingredients, adding sugar as needed until the icing reaches a thick consistency. Ice cupcakes and serve.
These are a fun twist on traditional cupcakes, and the finished product definitely carries the flavor of the soda it’s named for. It may seem weird to eat Dr Pepper at first, but I can promise you’ve never had anything like it! If you’ll be making these cupcakes, don’t miss out on these soda coupons – just because you’re going all-out in the kitchen doesn’t mean you have to go for broke at the grocery store!

Write A Song for Taio Cruz!

Coke has a lot of faith in their fans. The producers of American Idol have a lot of faith in Coke drinkers, too. But the person who trusts Coca-Cola lovers the most may be multiplatinum recording artist Taio Cruz. So how have these people shown that they think soda coupon-users are up for an exceptional challenge? By establishing the “Perfect Harmony” promotion, that’s how.

Coke is letting their fans, and the fans of hit tv program American Idol, help write a new song that will be performed live during the show’s season finale on May 25 at 8/7c on the Fox network. It’s rare that those of us watching Idol from the comfort of our living rooms have the chance to collaborate with someone like Taio Cruz, so you know I’ve been voting like mad ☺
To participate, log on to www.AmericanIdol.com and listen to the opening segment of a song written by Taio. You take it from there! Taio is writing the beginning of each verse, but we the fans have to finish them.
"AMERICAN IDOL auditions are proof that many of our fans have a passion and desire to sing professionally," said Ryan Seacrest, host of AMERICAN IDOL. "What we don't get to explore on camera are the many talented songwriters that exist as well. Coca-Cola has created a very exciting and innovative program that, for the first time, gives fans the opportunity to work with a top artist to create a new song that will be performed live in front of millions of people." I generally think Ryan is pretty silly, but this time, he’s right.

Every week from now to May 13, anyone ages 18 and up can submit their lyrics for consideration on the Perfect Harmony site. After submissions are received, Coke will pick their three favorites and idol fans 13 and up will vote for the lyrics that will end up in the actual song.
"Songwriting can be an individual journey or a cooperative effort, and I've done it both ways," said Taio Cruz. "But creating a new song, with the input of music fans and in partnership with Coca-Cola and AMERICAN IDOL? Now that takes the experience to a completely new place and I'm ready to get it started."
So really, you don’t have to even drink Coke to get in on this collaboration – but I do my best thinking with a cold beverage, so if I take advantage of the soda coupons I’ve found I’m more likely to write some amazing lyrics. I can’t wait to hear the song May 25!!!